2019 Week 14: (March 31-April 6)

This week in the sky there will be some conjunctions in tight close to the Sun and difficult to see.  The weather is looking to be ideal for early Spring viewing!

Date	Event
April 1	Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter (05:54 MDT)
April 1	Venus 3°N of Moon
April 2	Mercury 0.4°N of Neptune
April 2	Mercury 4°N of Moon
April 5	New Moon

If you can catch Jupiter around 6 in the morning on the 1st you will be able to catch a double shadow transit across its face.  I remember the first time I looked at Jupiter through a telescope I saw two black spots on it.  I didn't know what it was at the time.  I had fortunately caught a double shadow transit with two of the large planet's moons casting a shadow.  This is like a solar eclipse with our Moon casting a shadow on the Earth.  The image below captured by world famous planetary astrophotographer Damian Peach illustrates this phenomenon.  This is a real picture taken from Earth.

Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter (March 25, 2019) Image Credit: Damian Peach

This week there will be several rocket launches, including a Falcon Heavy.  You may remember this rocket taking a Telsa Roadster into space more than a year ago.  It now begins commercial launches on the 7th.  This is certainly a launch you do not want to miss.  See it live at the link below.

https://spaceflightnow.com/

Date	Event
April 4	Soyuz - Progress 72P (05:01)
April 4	Soyuz - O3b F5 (10:30)
April 7	Falcon Heavy - Arabsat 6A (16:36)

There will be two Soyuz launches on the 4th with one resupply mission to the ISS and another taking more communication satellites into orbit.

If you are in the mood for public astronomy events you may want to check out the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory's Open House this Saturday, April 6.  A link to the event is provided below.

https://www.ucalgary.ca/rao/event/2019-04-06/astrophysics-cutting-edge-open-house-2019

Date	Event
April 6	RAO Open House - Astrophysics on the Cutting Edge

Stay tuned next week for a free observing evening in Fish Creek Park!  This is a perfect event to bring the kids to and learn about the many amazing things in our night sky!